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Written by ME

By Brandi Johnson

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Table of Contents

Analysis 3

Grendel Vs. Beowulf 4

One Lonely Entertainer (Chaucer) 7

Diary Entry 9

Proposal to End Abortion 10

Lady of Shalott Summery 13

Time Writing 14

Literary Analysis 16

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I have noticed that my works have improved over the course of the school year. In the

beginging of senior year, I was still using simple sentences and not noticing little grammar

errors. As the year went on however I was able to use transition words better and I improved my

vocabulary. I also began to reread my writing after I was finished and I tried to find gramical

errors. I asked parents and friends to edit essays as well so I could get another’s opinion on how

my writing sounded. This helped me to better my writing because my friends and parents were

able to spot things that I could not detect. As the year went on I learned that it is not a bad thing

to ask someone for help.

Some things I noticed even in my later writing that I need to improve upon are commas

and point of view. I seemed to have a hard time remembering when to put in commas. I do not

think it is that I do not know where commas go I just get lazy and forget them. I need to start

reading what I write out loud so I can see where a break is needed and where I should place in a

comma. I also tend to change the point of view while I am writing. I will write my whole paper

in third person then in the last paragraph or so I will change to first person. This is a mistake I

should not be making because in know better then to switch around the point of view like that.

This is another thing I need to watch out for as I am writing papers in college. I cannot switch

around my point of view.

Overall I feel as if my writing has improved over the course of the year. I hope that as I

am in college I learn to watch out for silly errors and I remember that I can always ask someone

else if I need help.

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Grendel vs. Beowulf

Beowulf is a story of a legendary hero named Beowulf that fights and kills the evil demon

Grendel to save the Geats. Centuries later John Gardner wrote another version of Beowulf called

Grendel. This story was from the point of view of the Grendel. Both stories are similar in some

ways but very different in others. Grendel and Beowulf have the same characters and plot, but

different descriptions of the Anglo- Saxon people, a different version of how Grendel attacks the

mead hall, and different themes. These similarities and differences help make the stories unique.

In both the stories Grendel and Beowulf the characters are the same but the

characterizations are very different. In Grendel the monster Grendel is portrayed as a

sympathetic character. He just wants to fit in with the Vikings, but they are mean to him and call

him a monster. In Beowulf, Grendel is a monster, and he kills the Geats ruthlessly in their sleep.

One thing both Grendels have in common is their intelligence. In both the stories Grendel is able

to think through his actions.

Another character that is different in both stories is Hrothgar. In Beowulf the poem he is

a great honorable king and his men are all willing to die for him. In Grendel he is an old feeble

king that is after everyone’s riches. In both stories Grendel hates Hrothgar and seeks revenge on

him. Both the stories have many similarities and differences.

The Anglo- Saxons were honorable and always willing to die for glory and their king, but

when looked at from another’s perspective they looked like savages. In Gardner’s piece,

Grendel describes the Anglo- Saxons as uncivilized. They killed each other and would burn

down each others halls. They would raid a town and kill all the livestock and just leave it to

waste. “The fallen hall was a square of flames and acrid smoke, and the people inside (none of

them had been eaten either) were burned black, small, like dwarfs turned dark and crisp”

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(Gardner, 34). Grendel thought the Vikings were vulgar. In Beowulf the poem, the Vikings were

honorable. They believed that their fighting was for a real purpose. The Vikings fought for

glory in battle and to prove their strength. In the poem Beowulf said “Now Grendel and I are

called together and I have come. Grant me, then, lord and protector of this noble place, a single

request! I have come so far, oh shelter of warriors and your people’s loved friend, that this one

favor you should not refuse me—that I alone and with the help of my men may purge all evils of

this hall.” (LL 238-245). The Vikings fought for noble causes in Beowulf, but for selfish and

savage causes in Grendel.

Grendel attacks the Geats mead hall in Beowulf the poem and Gardner’s piece, but for

different reasons. In Beowulf he does it out of jealousy and revenge. Grendel hates the Geats

because of their happiness and thinks they should pay because he is so unhappy. In Gardner’s

piece, however, Grendel attacks the mead hall almost by accident. He is just spying on the

Vikings and one of the men catches him. The man tries to stab Grendel but he is invincible

because of a spell. Grendel kills that man and then more men come to try to save him and he

kills them too. He does it more out of defense then hatred. Grendel’s point of view in Gardner’s

piece is more innocent then the description of the attack of the mead hall in Beowulf.

The theme of both stories is completely different. In Grendel the theme is about Grendel

trying to fit in. Throughout the story Grendel discusses how he just wants to fit in with the

Vikings, but the Vikings will not accept him because he is different. In Beowulf the theme is

loyalty and bravery. Beowulf had much bravery in his fights against Grendel and Grendel’s

mother, and the dragon. He even fights Grendel without a sword. Beowulf shows loyalty to

Hrothgar when he fights for him even though Grendel is not even attacking Beowulf’s land.

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Beowulf is willing to fight till the death if he has to for Hrothgar. Beowulf is portrayed as a very

brave and loyal hero.

Both Grendel and Beowulf are contrasting, but there similarities tie them together. In

Grendel Hrothgar is a savage Viking and Grendel is an almost innocent creature. In Beowulf

Hrothgar is the good and mighty king and Grendel is the evil monster. They both see the Anglo-

Saxon people from opposite view points; uncivilized and savage, and brave and noble. They

both also have very contrasting versions of the attack in the mead hall and different themes.

Both stories shared the same plots, but different themes and view points that made the stories

very unique.

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One lonely Entertainer

I am an entertainer.  As far as entertainers go I am extremely well versed.  I can play the

flute, juggle better then any man, and bring stories to life.  I was born in London but now I have

no home.  I have been traveling on the road, earning my way from town to town, since I was ten

years old.  My family all died from the Black Death.  My mother, a nurse, was always around the

sick.  I believe I get my optimism from her.  She was always optimistic about her patient’s

chances.  My father abandoned my family when I was young; I do not remember much about

him.  I was their only child. I credit my mother for helping me decide my profession. My mother

would take me to work with her when I was young because there was no one home to watch me.

I was around the dying all day. I was one of the few people that could make them smile. I

would sit around their beds and tell them stories and juggle just to make them happy. I tried to

help them find the good to every situation. Even though they were dying many were optimistic

about the lives they had lived. I became particularly close to one elderly woman named Eleanor.

She was an amazing flute player. Every night I would visit her and she would teach me how to

play. She even asked me to play for her at her funeral after she passed on. At the age ten my

mother died of the disease that she tried to so hard to cure. I was forced to wander the streets

alone.

In my travels I came upon a group of pilgrims that were going on a pilgrimage to

Canterbury. I have never been religious, but I decided I would give it a try. I have met many

different and exciting people on this pilgrimage. I enjoy the company of the Wife of Bath.

Although she is self-centered, her words ring true about marriage. She keeps advising me never

to get married and I think she is right. If my mother had never married my father she would not

have been so hurt when he left us. Away with marriage I want nothing to do with it. The friar

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has come to like me I think. I play the flute for him whenever he asks it of me. All the pilgrims

will sit around and listen as I play and tell stories. The friar always makes it a point to

congratulate me after one of my performances. Even if I perform poorly I can always count on

him to boost me up.

I decided to go on this pilgrimage not really knowing what I was getting myself into. I

only really came on this pilgrimage because some of the pilgrims asked me to when they had

seen me perform. I am not a religious person, but I want to be. I have begun reading the Bible

and praying to God. I have always been a bright optimist person, but now my happiness comes

from God. The friar told me that God is always there for me. All my life I thought I was

traveling alone in this world. I never realized that God was beside me the whole time. This

pilgrimage is changing my life forever. I am so grateful that I decided to come along.

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Diary Entry

Waking up September 11, 2001 was a typical Tuesday morning. I skipped breakfast as

usual and picked coffee up on the way to work. I have been working at the World Trade Center

for three years now and every day I complain about my job. The long hours and the

unbelievably boring work make me wish I had chosen a different career. Today was an

exceptionally bad day for me because I had not received the promotion I have been working

toward for the past year. This promotion would have moved me up to the fortieth floor to work

with the top traders. It also would have practically doubled my salary and I could have moved

out of my little apartment into a nice condo.

About midway through the day I heard a terrible crash. The entire building shook and

people around me started to panic. I tried to keep calm and I left my office to figure out what

was going on. A frantic woman ran up to me and exclaimed that a plane had crashed into the

building we were in. I, among many others, ran as quickly as I could to the nearest stairwell. It

was crowded with people pushing and shoving to get out of the building. It took me about

twenty minutes to reach the main level and get out of the building. I continued running as I left

the building because debris from where the plane had hit was falling all around me. As I ran I

saw people from the upper levels jump to their deaths because there was no way for them to

escape the now burning building. From ten blocks away I saw another plane crash into the

second tower. Clearly this was a planned attack. With many tears in my eyes I watched the first

tower, with many of my colleagues and friends still trapped inside, fall to the ground. More then

three thousand people died this day and I would have been one of them had I received that

promotion I had been working towards for so long. I have not complained about another day of

work since September 11, 2001.

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A Proposal to end abortion

In order to end the amount of abortions in the United States we propose that if

women have an abortion we have the right to kill one or her family members and if she has

no family we have the right to kill her. The doctor that performs the operation also must

lose a family member after each abortion he performs.

Abortions are becoming more and more common every day.  One in three women will

have an abortion before the age forty five.  The United States has made it easier for women to

have abortion by providing a pill for them to take if they cannot make it to the clinic. Abortion is

legalized all through the United States in the first trimester of pregnancy. Abortion affects the

mother and the child.

Abortion kills a baby in its mother’s womb by burning them with a saline shot, stabbing

the fetus or if the baby is lucky it will be ripped limb from limb from the one place it should be

the safest.   There has been proof that the baby will scream in the mother’s womb as it is ripped

apart.  This is called the silent scream because the baby cannot actually make any noise it can

just open its mouth in a cry of pain.  People take their rights away by giving the mother the

choice of whether or not to kill their fetus.

We propose that for every abortion performed the government has a right to kill a family

member of the mother and the doctor.  If they do not have family then the government has the

right to kill them. With this proposal we hope to lessen abortions and help solve the

overpopulation and the economic problems we face in the United States.

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Firstly, our proposal will lessen the amount of abortions in the United States.  Women

will think twice before they choose to kill their baby.  Fewer doctors will perform abortions

because they do not want to put their family in jeopardy.    

Secondly, with our proposal we will be helping the United States with our over-

population problem. Approximately three thousand, seven hundred abortions are performed each

day. If you multiply that by three then that will take care of eleven thousand one hundred

citizens each day, including the fetus.

Thirdly, when our proposal progresses less and less people will have abortions each year.

This will take care of teens having unprotected sex. If a teen does get pregnant they will think

twice about having an abortion and it will force them to take responsibility for their actions. If

they care for their family they will have an abortion.

Fourthly, with our economy in a recession our proposal will help citizens to save money

they would have spent on an abortion for food and other important items. They could give the

baby up for an adoption. With this option the mother would be saving three lives.

Lastly, our proposal will end the amount of women’s problems that result from having

abortions. After a woman has an abortion her chances of getting breast can increase. She can

also suffer from nausea, depression, and she has a higher chance of being sterile.

We realize ours is not the most humane solution, but we believe it will have a good effect

on the United States. If someone can think of a better idea then we are willing to compromise.

With our proposal population will decline, people will think twice before killing their babies,

unprotected sex will decrease, people will save money, and women will not suffer from post

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abortion symptoms. Were not trying to illegalize abortion, we are just trying to get women to

think twice about the choice of having an abortion.

Thank you for taking the time to read our proposal. We hope this will make a change in

the society and the killing of innocent babies will decline.

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Lady of Shalott

The island of Shalott lies on either side of a river. It is covered with fields of barley and rye.

Through the fields there is a road that leads to Camelot a city filled with many people. Camelot has four

gray walls and four gray towers. Lady of Shalott lives close enough to Camelot that she can see it, but she

does not live in Camelot. Only the people who rise very early to sow the barley fields know who the lady

is. In the morning she comes out of her tower and sings a song, but no one has seen her. They only hear

her.

Lady Shalott has a curse upon her, although she does not know what it is. She has no worries

except for the curse. She looks out her window and sees the people of Camelot and the road that leads to

it. She watches girls in the market, a long-haired page, a shepherd boy, and some knights walk along the

road to Camelot. She realizes that she will never have a loyal and true knight to rescue her. One night

she saw two young lovers and remarked “I am half sick of shadows.” She said this because she is lonely

and seeks companionship.

One day a knight came along the road in between the fields. The knight’s name was Sir Lancelot

and he was in search for a lady. As he rode along the bells from his houses saddle rang and the sunlight

shown upon him. His hair flowed in the breeze and he sag a song called “Tirra lira.” Lady Shalott began

to pace around the tower and cried out “the curse is come upon me,” as she saw Sir Lancelot riding

toward Camelot.

The lady of Shalott came down from her tower and got into a boat. On the prow she wrote The

Lady of Shalott. She loosened the chain that tied up the boat and started to head to Camelot. As she

floated down the river, the people of Camelot heard her sing her last song. As she was singing this song

she passed away. The people of Camelot found her body and read her name on the prow. They were

confused and asked each other if anyone knew who she was. Sir Lancelot declared, “She has a lovely

face; God in his mercy lend her grace, the Lady of Shalott.”

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Time Writing

In Frankenstein by Mary Shelly, the main character, Victor Frankenstein is forced to make a

choice. He must choose to create a female monster to be a companion to his monster he already created.

He can also choose not to make it, but if he chooses this the monster swears to make Frankenstein wish he

were dead. He agrees to make the female monster because he feels bad for abandoning his monster. He

then destroys the female because he feels he is being selfish and releasing another evil demon upon

mankind. I do not think Victor made the right decision in destroying her.

The monster was very lonely because mankind would not accept him. He says “If any being felt

emotions of benevolence towards me, I should return them on hundredfold and hundredfold; for that

creatures sake, I would make peace with the whole kind!” (Shelley, 105). He longed for companionship

from another. The monster told Frankenstein, “If you consent neither you nor any other human being

shall ever see us again” (Shelley, 105). If Frankenstein creates a female for the monster, the monster

would leave with her and never be seen again. Not even Victor Frankenstein, the monsters creator,

showed him compassion. The monster believes that Frankenstein owes him for creating him. The

monsters argument made Frankenstein agree to make the second creature, but after he thought about what

he was doing he changed his mind.

After some careful thinking, Victor Frankenstein decided to destroy the monster. He did this

because he realized that what he was doing was selfish. Frankenstein asked himself, “Had I the right for

my own benefit, to inflict this curse upon everlasting generations?” (Shelly, 121). He also though about

the females perspective, Frankenstein thought, “[She] might refuse to comply with a compact made

before her creation” (shelly, 121). He also thought about what would happen if the two tried to reproduce

“and a race of devils would be propagated upon the earth” (Shelley, 121). In the end Frankenstein

destroyed the monster and therefore condemned himself to a life of misery.

I do not think that Frankenstein made the right decision on destroying the female. The monster

just wanted a little of what everyone else had. It was not his fault that he was created, therefore he should

not have to suffer. The monster tells him, “I swear by you that made me, that with the companion you

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bestow I will quit the neighborhood of man and dwell, as it may chance, in the most savage of places”

(105). The monster swears to leave and I think Frankenstein should have listened.

Be destroying the female Frankenstein condemned his best friend his wife and himself to death.

The monster gave many good reasons to create the female, but Frankenstein also believed it was not the

right thing to do. He unselfishly made the right decision in his own mind. He destroyed the creature and

suffered the consequences.

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Literary analysis of the lady of shallot

The lady of shallot has many themes throughout the poem. Some themes that are present in the

story are the lady of desire and romantic victim of love. The poem also uses irony in the sense that the

lady of shallot never gets to see her true love because it cost her death in the end. This poem also uses

imagery because it has many descriptive adjectives that help paint an image in the readers head.

One main theme in the lady of shallot is the lady of desire. The lady of shallot is depicted to be

outside of her tower and out in the world. She is forbidden to look out of her window directly by a curse.

The lady watches people walk by on their way to Camelot through her mirror in her room. She then

weaves pictures on her loam of what she sees outside her window. She sees lovers walk by and desires to

be in love like them. The lady of shallot then watches sir Lancelot ride by and desires to be with him.

Her desires are what get her killed. Because of her love for Sir Lancelot, the lady leaves the tower to be

with him by dies before she gets to him.

As well as the Lady of Desire, another theme in The Lady of shallot is the victim of love. Lady

of shallot is a victim because she has a curse upon her. Although “she knows not what the curse may be,”

(Tennyson, 42) the curse forbids her form leaving her tower and being in love. She must stay in her

tower and weave her loam each night and day. She cannot leave the tower or look out of her window.

When she finally does fall in love with a knight named Sir Lancelot she sees riding by her window she

cannot be with him because of the curse. She becomes a victim of love when she leaves the tower despite

of her curse and dies. Sir Lancelot finds her body but he does not know who she is and how much she

loved him. These themes are not stated directly but must be formed by the imagination.

Another literary device Tennyson uses in the lady of shallot is irony. Irony is used because sir

Lancelot finds the lady’s body in the river and remarks about her beauty. He can never know that she

loved him. The two never het a chance to be together. The lady sees him form her window and desires to

be with him, but she cannot because she is in the tower. When she finally does go to his world, she dies so

she still cannot be with him. “Lancelot cannot know that the lady’s love for him caused her death, that she

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sacrificed everything so that she might experience his love” (Frauenhofer 3). The irony in the poem is that

she sees her true love but can never be with him.

Many artists, both men and women, have painted paintings to the images in Tennyson’s poem.

One artist named Mallais painted a picture to the image of the lady of shallot sitting by her window. The

picture depicted the lady in isolation. Another male artist drew pictures to the images created by

Tennyson is Hunt. Hunts paintings are more dark and depressing, featuring the lady of shallot tangled in

her tapestry in the tower. “While these well-established male artists illustrated Pre-Raphaelite ideals in

their rentions of “the lady of shallot.” The poem also inspired some lesser-known female artists of the

period, such as Elizabeth Seddal, Inez Warry and Florence Rutland” (Frauenhofer 1). The images created

by this poem were a great inspiration to artists.

Tennyson used many different literary devices to write his poem, the lady of shallot. Some

devices to the poem that really stuck out to me were the themes, images, and irony. The themes were the

lady of desire and victim of love. The irony in the poem is surrounded around the Lady and Sir Lancelot

never being together. The images in the poem are mainly of the lady in her tower being separated for the

rest of the world. The poem was very well written using all the literary devices.

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